ILLEGAL workers were caught in a swoop by immigration officers at a factory in the Midlands.

A team of 20 officers from the UK Border Agency raided the PCS Food Group poultry processing factory in Oxford Street, Bilston, where they found four people working without proper papers.

Two Indian men aged 28 and 41 and an Indian woman aged 44 were arrested for either entering the country illegally or overstaying visas. A Jamaican woman aged 43 was also found to have overstayed her visa and was arrested during the swoop yesterday morning.

All four are now in the process of being deported.

The company was given an on-the-spot notice and was warned it could face a fine of up to £40,000.

UK Border Agency regional director Gail Adams said: “We are working hard to pull the plug on the illegal jobs which lure illegal immigrants to come to the UK in the first place. “Illegal working is unfair on honest employers who recruit staff with the right to work in the UK and who pay them a proper salary.

“Employers who don’t play by the rules will get struck of our register, lose the right to recruit staff from outside Europe, face on the spot fines and could potentially end up in jail.”

Tough new penalties were brought in in February in a bid to tackle bosses who fail to carry out proper checks on workers from outside Europe.

A fine of up to £10,000 per can be imposed for every illegal worker who is found at a business.

Guidance for employers on preventing illegal working can be found on the UK Border Agency website, www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/employingmigrants or by calling the UK Border Agency Employers Helpline on 0845 010 6677.

* Anyone who suspects illegal workers are being employed at a business should call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.